During Thursday afternoon called in at the Leeds University ground at Weetwood, where there appears little chance of any competitive cricket this season. The University season never started and now that the Yorkshire Academy have opted out of the Premier League North it appears there will be no competitive games for them. However the Academy squad were in action, having a game amongst themselves in strict quarantine conditions. We did a circuit of the ground watching from a distance feeling that may be the only action we see here this season. Groundsman Richard Robinson as ever has kept the ground trim and tidy throughout lockdown but is very despondent at the lack of any cricket.
Later in the day we were able to see competitive cricket just a little further down the Leeds Ring Road at New Rover where the home side were playing Adel in the second week of Headingley Evening League fixtures. This really was a hard fought game which could have gone either way right to the last over. After a cloudy, drizzly day yet again, it brightened up later on with even a glimpse of evening sunshine.
Evening sunshine at New Rover.
Adel after their victory in this league last week and a first win in the Aire Wharfe league at the weekend must have been in confident mood, especially with newcomer George Hogg, from the Nottingham area, who scored a century on debut last Saturday, in their ranks. They compiled a useful first innings score of 158-4 in their twenty overs with fifty from opener Tom Harrison and the help of 39 extras.
As New Rover had been bowled out for fifty last week, Adel must have been confident of victory at the half way stage, but the reckoned without veteran batsman Michael Richmond, recalled to the ranks after last week's fiasco. After three early wickets had fallen, one of which being an outstanding one handed catch in the deep by James Thorp, Richmond took command and was only dismissed for 77 shortly before the end. Two more wickets had already fallen before then, with some more outstanding catching. One of which got rid of the man with the longest name seen for some time in Christodoulos Bogdanos no less.
New Rover made the winning runs with just two balls remaining to earn a worthy victory and it must be said they made more use of the short boundary on one side of the wicket, at the very edge of the square, than their opponents. New Rover hit six sixes in total, three by Richmond, against just one by Adel.
In the two other games played there was a second win for pace setters Rawdon who made 230-4 and restricted Leeds Modernians to 96-8, whereas St. Chads had a narrow victory over Cookridge in a low scoring game.
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